Dundas Partners LLP Has $513,000 Position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Dundas Partners LLP boosted its position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 69.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,522 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 623 shares during the quarter. Dundas Partners LLP’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $513,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MORN. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morningstar by 178.6% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 78 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Morningstar in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Morningstar during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Morningstar by 101.7% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 121 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Morningstar by 49.5% in the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Morningstar from $387.00 to $370.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 3rd.

Insider Transactions at Morningstar

In other Morningstar news, CFO Jason Dubinsky sold 3,223 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $352.88, for a total value of $1,137,332.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,304 shares in the company, valued at $6,106,235.52. This represents a 15.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.10, for a total value of $2,728,568.20. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 10,047,332 shares in the company, valued at $3,025,251,665.20. This trade represents a 0.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 53,703 shares of company stock worth $17,349,106 over the last three months. 39.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Morningstar Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MORN opened at $290.65 on Friday. Morningstar, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $281.37 and a fifty-two week high of $365.00. The firm has a market cap of $12.45 billion, a PE ratio of 38.40 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $323.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $329.66.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The business services provider reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $591.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $580.81 million. Morningstar had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 23.28%.

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.455 per share. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.63%. This is an increase from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 3rd. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.24%.

Morningstar Profile

Morningstar, Inc provides independent investment insights in the United States, Asia. Australia, Continental Europe, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company operates in five segments: Morningstar Data and Analytics; PitchBook; Morningstar Wealth; Morningstar Credit; and Morningstar Retirement.